How many active years do I have left?

[braumeister]

There are many calculators that try to show how long we might live, but to me it's much more relevant to try to guess how many active years I'll have.

I found this one that attempts to do that:
Healthy Life Expectancy Calculator

It seems kind of optimistic, since it predicts quite a few more healthy/active (your own definition) years than I would have guessed, but at least it's something to strive for.

While The Healthy Life Expectancy Calculator isn’t the first of its kind, it is backed up by science. Research supports many factors of this model, such as how exercise, income, education, and diseases like diabetes can impact life expectancy.
...
The Healthy Life Expectancy Calculator lists ways you can extend your “healthy years” and tells you exactly how many years it can be prolonged by. ... Many of these lifestyle changes are backed up by science and accessible for most people.
...
The Goldenson Center’s calculator is admittedly still a work in progress. It’s still too early to say to what extent their findings are accurate and as they refine their calculator, there could be potential to add categories.

 

[Lewis Clark]

My results were about a full decade longer than I would have expected. Hope they are correct! : )

 

[aja8888]

Your predicted future healthy years is 17.4 Years
Your Relative Healthy Life Expectancy is about 143.8% above Average
Your predicted future unhealthy years is 3.4 Years
Your predicted future total years of living is 20.8 Years i.e. Your predicted age at death is 79 + 20.8 (Current Age + Life Expectancy) = 99.8 Years
Your predicted future unhealthy years, if disabled by a cognitive disease, is 4.8 Years

Yikes! I'm not planning on living to 99.8!

 

[HillCountry]

I think the calculator can improve by taking race into consideration. Those racial based life expectancy can be found by looking at wiki.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Interesting...

"Your predicted future healthy years is 46.0 Years
Your Relative Healthy Life Expectancy is about 24.8% above Average
Your predicted future unhealthy years is 3.8 Years
Your predicted future total years of living is 49.8 Years i.e. Your predicted age at death is 47 + 49.8 (Current Age + Life Expectancy) = 96.8 Years
Your predicted future unhealthy years, if disabled by a cognitive disease, is 5.2 Years
How does my lifestyle affect my Healthy Life Expectancy?


You are doing a great job exercising, keep up the great work
At the moment your BMI is looking good, but make sure you keep an eye on it
By sleeping more each night you can increase your healthy life expectancy by 3.56% which is about 19.7 months
By reducing your alcohol consumption each week you can increase your healthy life expectancy by 2.92% which is about 16.1 months
Not smoking has a positive impact on your healthy life expectancy"


I probably got dinged by my income too as I put my FIRE allowance.


I think I'll enjoy a couple beers tonight at Euchre... 95 is good enough!
​

 

[Midpack]

The calculator predicts healthy years and unhealthy years. “Active” and healthy are two different things IMO. My results were 90 healthy years and 94 years total. I’m in decent shape but there’s no way I’ll be what I consider active at 90. I’ll be thrilled if I’m still “active” in my early 80’s. That said we’ve probably all known people who could barely walk at 60, and others who are surprisingly active at 90…

 

[Car-Guy]

Seems to be surprisingly reasonable to me although maybe a bit optimist... It reminds me to increase my WR --- NOW!

My predicted future healthy years is 7.3 Years

If my energy/ability levels drop off as much in the next 10 years as they have in the past 10 years I don't want to see it. That ain't healthy or active from my POV. At this point it's all about quality of life, not quantity.

 

[RunningBum]

I read "healthy" years. Not sure how that compares to "active" years.

 

[Dtail]

98.6 for me, with 34 healthy years left.

 

[NW-Bound]

There are many calculators that try to show how long we might live, but to me it's much more relevant to try to guess how many active years I'll have.

I found this one that attempts to do that:
Healthy Life Expectancy Calculator

It seems kind of optimistic, since it predicts quite a few more healthy/active (your own definition) years than I would have guessed, but at least it's something to strive for.

Hmmm... I played with the calculator, and for the Driving History, changing from "0 accident" to "2+ accidents/year", my predicted longevity is not drastically reduced as I would think.

Can that be right, for the kind of drivers who get 2 accidents/year?

 

[razztazz]

I hope this is a good one! There is some reason to be suspicious but, hey, if it's "backed up by science", I'll tell myself what I want to hear. To wit:

Age 65, weight 162, 5'10"

Results 1) All the good things checked. i.e College, excellent diet, exercise etc etc, current health level excellent: 33.7 years

Results 2) Same except Current health "poor" due to heart attack, 26% ejection fraction. 31.1 years

Results 3) Same as Results 1 except "smoker": 32.4 years

Results 4) Same as results 2 with "smoker" 29.4 years

Seems like being in poor health and taking up smoking don't affect your lifespan much. Every case puts me in the statistical dithering zone that anybody would be in at that age. Nearing 100.

As someone said, seems a little optimistic.

 

[RunningBum]

Hmmm... I played with the calculator, and for the Driving History, changing from "0 accident" to "2+ accidents/year", my predicted longevity is not drastically reduced as I would think.

Can that be right?

Hey, my longevity changed when you did that! Drive more carefully, willya?

 

[Walt34]

I think I'll enjoy a couple beers tonight at Euchre... 95 is good enough!
​

That's just the way you feel, until you're 94....

Well, according to this calculator I'm going to win the SS sweepstakes big time and will live to 95.5. We'll see.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hey, my longevity changed when you did that! Drive more carefully, willya?

I have not had any accident in the last few decades.

Was just seeing if I BTD on a Tesla Plaid, how it would affect my life span.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hmmm... This made me jog my memory.

My only driving accident in life was in 1977, and it was not my fault.


PS. Just remember another minor fender bender in 1976. Also not my fault.

PPS. And another minor accident in 1981, when my car was hit from behind at a stop sign.

 

[Dtail]

Hmmm... This made me jog my memory.

My only driving accident in life was in 1977, and it was not my fault.


PS. Just remember another minor fender bender in 1976. Also not my fault.

Same here in 1978.

 

[NW-Bound]

Same here in 1978.

Now, go see if changing from 1 accident/5 decades to 2+ accidents/year affects your longevity much.

And remember it's 2+, meaning you could have 10 or 20/year or 1/week. Seems like it would affect your portfolio much more than your lifespan.

 

[aaronc879]

Seems like a very poor calculator to me. WAY overestimating most peoples lifespans both with good health and without. I would not pay much if any attention to this.

 

[silvor]

Seems like a very poor calculator to me. WAY overestimating most peoples lifespans both with good health and without. I would not pay much if any attention to this.

Agreed. No family health history.

 

[Ronstar]

If I’m predicted to live until 99.5 years old, why would I want to decrease alcohol consumption now to add 14 months to my life? A few beers a week for the next 33 years is worth far more to me than living an extra 14 months past 99.5.

 

[Aerides]

If I’m predicted to live until 99.5 years old, why would I want to decrease alcohol consumption now to add 14 months to my life? A few beers a week for the next 33 years is worth far more to me than living an extra 14 months past 99.5.

At that rate I plan to increase drinking! An extra couple glasses of wine to go out at 99 even? Sold!

 

[jabbahop]

hmm - 62 now predicting another 34 years. Lean, exercise a bunch, eat whatever I want including way too much sugar. don’t smoke, drink rarely but have had 3 cancers so far, arrhythmia, and an aneurysm. If I were a betting man, I would take the under.

 

[Time2]

Seems like a very poor calculator to me. WAY overestimating most peoples lifespans both with good health and without. I would not pay much if any attention to this.

Oops, I read one post to far into the thread.

 

[RAE]

If I’m predicted to live until 99.5 years old, why would I want to decrease alcohol consumption now to add 14 months to my life? A few beers a week for the next 33 years is worth far more to me than living an extra 14 months past 99.5.

+1. I got dinged for too much alcohol consumption, but it still has me living until 96.6. No way am I going to give up my couple glasses of wine with dinner each day, and my one beer after dinner, to possibly live another year or two! Actually, I think the calculator estimates are too high........I'm pretty sure I will not live until 96.6, with or without the alcohol.

 

[Scuba]

If I’m predicted to live until 99.5 years old, why would I want to decrease alcohol consumption now to add 14 months to my life? A few beers a week for the next 33 years is worth far more to me than living an extra 14 months past 99.5.

I agree 100%!